


Fortitude, Upright

by Carriwitchets



Category: Persona 4, Persona 5
Genre: F/F, Gen, sometimes everyone needs a helping hand up, turns out there are a lot of them in Inaba
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2020-05-30
Updated: 2020-05-30
Packaged: 2021-03-02 17:22:30
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 11,898
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/24450520
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/Carriwitchets/pseuds/Carriwitchets
Summary: When Shiho requested to move from Tokyo, her parents found a place as far from the hustle and bustle of city life as possible, a little town called Inaba. It doesn’t look much like home, but then, neither does Tokyo anymore.Maybe, with a little bit of help, she can make a life here after all.Or: How the Investigation Team helped Shiho Suzui get her groove back.
Relationships: Suzui Shiho/Takamaki Ann
Comments: 24
Kudos: 138





	Fortitude, Upright

It was raining when Shiho and her parents arrived in Inaba. Shiho had been told it was common for it to rain there, but she still stared dourly out the window and watched the downpour. It was one thing to have known it, and another still to be living it.

She shifted her gaze to her parents, standing under the awning over the front porch of the building that was to be their new home, arguing with a man in front of it. They were trying, and failing, to not get wet. Shiho wondered listlessly what they were arguing about; as far as she’d been told, everything was squared away for their new life here.

Eventually, her mother huffed and her father stalked away, both of them clambering back into the car.

“I can’t believe it,” her father muttered irritably, but he fell silent after that. Shiho lifted her head as they drove away.

“What’s going on?” she asked.

“The renovations they were working on aren’t finished yet,” her mother sighed, looking over the seatback to look at her. “They should be finished soon, but until then, we can’t properly move in.”

That figured, Shiho thought, though she just nodded understandingly and returned her flat gaze to the raindrop covered window.

“But!” her mother said, trying to lighten the mood. “It sounds as though there’s this famous inn in town. The contractor said they would put us up in that inn until the renovations are finished, so it isn’t all bad. We can look at it like an adventure.”

Once upon a time, Shiho would’ve looked forward to an adventure. But Shiho as she was now merely shrugged a little. She missed Ann, though she didn’t miss Tokyo, where everyone stared at her so pityingly. But it figured, she thought, that even in the place where she was supposed to move in, they didn’t have a home yet.

No home in Tokyo, no home here. She didn’t have a home at all, and Shiho just closed her eyes and listened to the rain fall as her father slowly drove through the mostly-empty town.

They were received at the Amagi Inn by staff wearing traditional kimono, and that was unusual enough to get Shiho to lift her head, if out of sheer curiosity. The inn itself was old, but well-maintained and quite beautiful, and when her mother saw her looking around with curiosity, she smiled a little, with a hint of relief, and said, “Go on. Why don’t you go look around while your father and I decide what luggage to bring in?”

Shiho hesitated, but her mother nodded encouragingly, and so she slowly wandered off, hands in her hoodie pocket and hood still pulled over her head, despite being now inside instead of in the rain.

She limped, still, but it bothered her less when there weren’t people to see it; besides, her knee brace was safely beneath her pants, and so nobody could see _that_. The inn, despite being supposedly famous, was quiet, and she didn’t run into anyone as she wandered from the lobby to the outside terrace. That, too, was quiet, though that wasn’t surprising; it was still raining heavily, and while the terrace was beautiful and traditional, it was barely visible through the downpour.

Shiho stood there for a moment in the walkway, staring out past her hood at the traditional stone walkways and carefully maintained ponds.

“Hello.”

The voice that interrupted her thoughts was soft, but it still made her jump; Shiho landed wrong on her leg, small as the movement had been, and winced as she leaned over to massage her leg.

The black-haired young woman who had spoken raised a hand to her mouth in delicate horror, hurrying to Shiho’s side. Despite the sharp twinge of pain she was still combating, Shiho still noted that it was impressive how well she moved in that neat and tidy kimono. Even in a regular, loose long skirt, Shiho always found herself tripping over the fabric.

“Oh my goodness… are you all right?” the young woman asked, gently reaching out to put a hand on her shoulder. 

Shiho straightened a little and grimaced. “Um, yes, I’m fine. Don’t worry, it’s just…”

She took a deep breath. “It’s just an old injury acting up.”

Then Shiho looked up, and all thoughts of Kamoshida and her broken leg were shoved to a far corner of her brain as she registered just how beautiful the young woman who had come to speak to her was. She had a different beauty to Ann’s, Shiho processed faintly. Whereas Ann was an absolutely gorgeous and stunning surprise, this young woman seemed like the classic, perfect, ideal Japanese beauty.

Suddenly, it was a little more difficult to speak.

The young woman still looked concerned, but mercifully, she didn’t ask. Instead, she nodded. “Are you staying at the inn? Can I help you to your room?”

“Oh…” Shiho blinked. “You work here?”

A beat, and her brain caught up. “I mean, of course you work here… you’re wearing the kimono and everything… I’m sorry, I’m not--I’m not really sure where my head is today. It’s just that you’re really beautiful, and that’s distracting--Oh my god. Please just forget I said anything.”

The young woman paused, blinking at her. Shiho had always had a bad habit of running her mouth even when she absolutely should not have, but as her very first impression for their very first stay in their new home… that was a mess she wasn’t sure she would be able to come back from.

And then… the young woman snorted.

It was covered up by a delicate hand over her mouth, but nonetheless, it was definitely a snort. Shiho stared at her with wide eyes, and then stared more as she broke down into peals of laughter. She hadn’t thought that what she’d said was that funny, honestly, but even if it was…

There was something oddly soothing about it. Even if the young woman was laughing at her, there was no meanness to the laughter. Something about it reminded Shiho of Ann too, Ann with her head thrown back and laughing in a way that wasn’t even remotely prim or proper or ladylike, her hair gleaming in the sun.

She couldn’t quite recall when that memory had been, but something about it felt right, and Shiho felt something settle in her heart.

“I--I’m sorry,” the young woman wheezed out, rubbing a tear from her eye. “M-my name is Yukiko Amagi. I… don’t exactly work here, but I help out sometimes. What’s your name?”

“It’s Shiho,” she said faintly, rubbing the back of her neck. She was a little embarrassed still, but Yukiko smiled at her warmly, and Shiho didn’t protest when she tugged down her hood.

“You’re very pretty too, Shiho-san, once you pull down the hood,” Yukiko told her, taking her by the hand to lead her down the outdoor hallway. “I hope you enjoy your stay. And I hope that we can talk more, for as long as you’re here.”

Shiho followed immediately, limping after Yukiko with a baffled look on her face. “Are you sure…? I’m just another person staying here. I’m nothing special.”

“That is true,” Yukiko said thoughtfully, a hand at her chin contemplatively, and Shiho winced a little at the absolute lack of punches withheld. “But… you made me laugh. I really like people who make me laugh.”

And again, Shiho was reminded of Ann, Ann and her casual decision to befriend Shiho all because she laughed at her atrocious artwork, and she found herself smiling despite herself.

“Alright then,” Shiho said slowly. “I think I’d really like that, Amagi-san.”

“Please,” the young woman said with a small smile. “Call me Yukiko. Now… this should be your room over here. I really hope you enjoy your stay. And please… come speak with me at any time. I think I’ll enjoy it.”

“Okay,” Shiho responded, “I’ll do my best.”

Strangely, she thought as she slipped into the room and began to poke around, she actually thought she meant it. It was a little nice to be a little excited to speak with someone again, and Shiho smiled a little to herself before she shook herself and moved to unpack some of her belongings.

* * *

It took the workers three days to finish the work on their home. Then there was a fourth day of clean-up, and finally, Shiho and her parents packed up the scant few belongings they’d bothered to pull out of their suitcases and moved across town to their house. She found that waving goodbye to Yukiko, who she’d spoken with often, was harder than she’d expected, but Yukiko had just smiled and told her, “Inaba isn’t that big. I’m sure I’ll see you around.”

And so they left.

Shiho, carrying a bag over her shoulder and tugging a roller suitcase along behind her, was the first to poke her head into the house. It was eerily empty, without much even in the way of furniture. Shiho had been expecting that, at least; when she’d asked about them getting their furniture delivered, Shiho’s mother had sighed with a distant look in her eyes and murmured something about the locals seeming to resent delivery people.

Their furniture would come eventually, in other words.

Shiho quietly began to haul her suitcase upstairs, stair by stair.

“Shiho--! I can grab that, you can just leave it at the bottom of the stairs,” her father grunted under the weight of the two other boxes he was carrying. Shiho just offered a wobbly smile.

“It’s okay, dad. I’ve got it.”

She continued, stair by stair. The last thing she wanted was to be treated as an invalid. It was true that she wasn’t as athletic as she was before, but she wasn’t as badly off as she was in the hospital either. She could get her suitcase up to her room.

The upstairs was even more eerie, oddly quiet and empty. She walked down the hall, peering into the doors she passed as she went. Ah. Her room was to the left, it seemed, and she dropped her bag there and left her suitcase as well, the handle still up. The room was empty, with little more than a futon plopped in the middle of it, the one thing her parents had managed to make sure would arrive early. The window’s drapes were drawn, and for a moment, Shiho was tempted to open them up to see what her view looked like.

But she didn’t, instead simply inspecting the space.

“Home,” she said, testing the word on her tongue. The room didn’t respond, and she frowned a little to herself. It didn’t feel right at all.

Then she padded downstairs again to see if her parents needed any help bringing the rest in.

“Ah, Shiho!” her mother, frazzled while trying to bring in artwork without allowing the damp drizzle of the day to ruin it, called out. “Would you mind running a few errands for us?”

Shiho moved closer, tugging her hood up again as she stepped outside. “What is it, mom?”

“Would you mind going to the nearby store and grabbing some things for dinner? A few cleaning supplies too. Nothing too crazy,” her mother said, fixing a stare on her. “I don’t want you trying to haul a lot of bags back. But we need a few things so we can at least survive tonight.”

Shiho wondered if her parents would ever stop treating her like glass, but didn’t bring it up; instead, she nodded, stepping past her. “Is the store this way?”

“Yes, it’s supposed to be a Junes. You should recognize it by the logo, at least. We must have passed a dozen of them on our way out here.”

Shiho nodded again, and then she set out, her hands tucked into her front hoodie pocket as she began to walk. The weather was strange; she almost wished she’d thought to bring an umbrella, but it wasn’t exactly raining and she wasn’t sure how much good it would’ve done. Rather, it was like a fine mist hung over the town, one that slowly dampened her entire hoodie.

She made a face, but kept walking. The Junes had to be close by if her parents were asking her to walk there, and it didn’t take long to spy such a large building on the otherwise minimalist landscape. Feeling the chill start to sink in, Shiho shivered and picked up the pace, until she was nearly jogging--if an awkward, slightly off-gait jog.

“Welcome to Junes! Your destination for--whoa, jeeze, you’re soaked!”

Shiho, wheezing a little, looked up at the employee who had greeted her.

“Hey, are you okay?” he asked, coming closer, a frown on his face.

Did everyone just immediately care about the well-being of everyone else here? Shiho wondered, as she struggled to catch her breath. Or were they all just nosy? 

It was harder to catch her breath than she remembered it being before her hospital stay. Jogging after not having exercised properly for months sans her physical therapy was possibly not her wisest move…

“F-fine,” she finally managed to breathe out, slowly straightening. “Just… out of shape.”

The young man looked relieved at that, ruffling his messy orange hair sheepishly. “Ha… I know how that goes. I don’t think I’ve worked out properly since--”

A beat. He changed topics.

“Anyway, what’re you here for? You’re new, right? I’ve never seen you around.”

That was something else Shiho supposed she would have to get used to. Everyone here was used to seeing everyone else. She was officially “the new kid”. Well… she supposed she would get a good feel for what Ann had always felt, standing out so dramatically in Tokyo.

“I’m new, yes,” she said, slowly tugging down her hood. “Could you point me to the cleaning supplies?”

“Yeah, yeah, of course,” he said. “They’re this way, past the outdoor supplies and when you take a left turn at the crafts. You’ll want aisle twelve for standing cleaning supplies, aisle thirteen for things like paper towels.”

A beat. Shiho wondered if her face looked as lost as she felt, dripping on the tile as she peered in the direction he’d indicated and wondered where the outdoor supplies were.

It must have, because a moment later, he shook his head. “Here, lemme show you where, okay?”

Shiho sighed softly, and nodded. “Thank you, um…”

“Oh--!” He grinned at her, rubbing the back of his head again as he walked. “It’s Yosuke. Yosuke Hanamura. I work here part time.”

Shiho nodded quietly, and found that to be lacking, so she added after a brief moment, “Um, it’s nice to meet you… I’m Shiho. My family just moved in.”

A beat.

“Like… you noticed already…” she added quietly, fighting the urge to tug her hood back up.

Yosuke either didn’t notice her awkwardness or, as was much more likely, he didn’t care that she was so awkward. He just kept on walking, nodding. “We don’t get new people very often, but you’re always going to be welcome when you do. That’s the one not-so-bad part about living in a small town like this.”

Despite herself, Shiho’s lips twitched.

“That’s a glowing review of the place,” she said dryly, and Yosuke grimaced.

“I didn’t really want to come here,” he admitted ruefully. “But it’s grown on me since. Like a fungus.”

Shiho wasn’t sure if Yosuke was trying to convince her that she’d be happy here or not, at this point, and she wasn’t sure if asking would make it any better. Instead, she pointed at the nearest shelf. “Is that section the gardening supplies…?”

Yosuke blinked, and then came back to himself, nodding. “Right, yeah. From here, you just go this way, and then take a left. You really can’t miss it from here, honest.”

“Right.” Shiho nodded a little, and then hesitated in place. “Um… thank you, Hanamura-san. For the help.”

And for what she thought might’ve been a pep talk, if she was optimistic. Maybe. But he just grinned at her, and she left it at that, starting to walk the rest of the way alone. Her shoes, wet as they were, squeaked on the tile, and she grimaced. Shiho hadn’t noticed them squeaking up until this point--had her conversation with Yosuke really distracted her that much?

It was a little embarrassing, but she tried not to pay it any attention.

“Left… and then this way… um, aisle twelve, I think he said…” Shiho murmured to herself, fiddling with one sleeve as she walked. A glance up, and she blinked. Fourteen--that wasn’t right. That was too far.

Abruptly, she turned, and ran right into a mass of blue fur.

“Why hello there, miss!” the mass of blue fur said.

“Augh!” Shiho replied.

She scrambled back, her leg protesting the sudden movement to the extent that it nearly collapsed beneath her. Somehow, she managed to steady herself, biting her lip at the lapse.

“Miss, are you--”

“I’m _fine_ ,” Shiho snapped out, nerves frayed from being asked that far too many times in the past week, and now again by a _blue furry creature_. She’d gotten used to everyone in Tokyo knowing why she was limping, why she was bandaged… she’d gotten so used to everyone avoiding her gaze and looking away and pretending like they hadn’t noticed anything was wrong at all.

This sort of attention and care was… well, she wasn’t sure how she felt about it, but she did know she was absolutely tired, and that there was a creature in front of her staring at her with eyes that were way too large and fur that was way too blue.

“What…” She frowned, closed her eyes for a moment, and tried again. “What _are_ you?”

“Teddie is a soft, lovable bear!” the creature said, and oh god, it was talking. It was supposed to be a bear, somehow. It was… something, that was the most generous thought she could come up with. Shiho, still dripping a little, just looked at the bear for a long moment.

“I don’t understand this place,” she whispered, head drooping. Shiho was tired, her room had only a futon in it, her leg still smarted and she was still wet, and now there was a fluffy thing that claimed to be a bear standing in her way in the middle of a department store. This wasn’t an all time low--Shiho had seen what _that_ was--but it wasn’t a fun time by any means.

“Miss, if you’re feeling bad, there are lots of fun things here at Junes to cheer yourself up with!” the bear said, still far more chipper than she felt any bear had the right to be. “Like massage chairs and ice pops and fun clothes to try on and--”

“ _There_ you are--urk.”

The voice that interrupted the bear was familiar, and Shiho looked up slowly to see Yosuke standing next to said creature, rubbing the back of his head with a sheepishness that was also becoming familiar.

“Oh, uh, Shiho-san! Wow, fancy seeing you here,” he said.

“You directed me here,” Shiho pointed out, crossing her arms despite herself. She was still tired, but that was one thing she couldn’t let pass without some sort of riposte.

Yosuke winced again. “Uh. Yeah. Right. So… this guy isn’t bothering you, is he?”

Shiho paused a moment to contemplate that. _Was_ he bothering her? He had certainly surprised her, and he was definitely weird, but bother… she wasn’t so sure about that. If nothing else, his chipper attitude had made her forget, for a moment, about everything else.

“What _is_ he?” she asked instead of answering the question. “He talks!”

“Er… yeah.” Yosuke shot the bear a sharp glare, before he turned another smile her way. Shiho felt as though he was probably shooting for angelic, but definitely missed the mark. “He’s… a mascot. For Junes.”

“A mascot,” she repeated flatly. “I didn’t know that Junes had a--”

“A mascot for _this_ Junes. Here in Inaba. It’s, uh, a special Inaba thing.”

Shiho felt as though he might’ve been scrambling, but calling him out on it didn’t really seem worth it. Maybe it really was a mascot just for Inaba?

“The blue is a little tacky…” she muttered to herself.

“Hey! My fur is bear-y beautiful, I’ll have you know! It’s top of the class; only a bar-bear-ian would think otherwise!” the bear cut in, and Shiho was torn between apologizing for saying something so rude out loud, and buckling down double fold because he was so _annoying_.

In the end, the choice was taken from her; Yosuke shoved the bear, and then kept on shoving, pushing him right out of the aisle and away. “Anyway, sorry for taking up so much of your time, Shiho-san, please have a good day, enjoy your time at Junes, bye!”

Then they were both gone, and Shiho stared after them blankly before she closed her eyes and turned back to try to find the cleaning supplies. Weirdly, though, as she left the store with bags in hand, she found herself smiling slightly.

“Bar-bear-ian,” she muttered as she stepped out into the rain, snorting to herself despite everything.

* * *

Going to school had been shockingly nondescript. She had introduced herself, and while a novelty for the fact that she was a transfer student, she kept her head down and settled in. She didn’t exactly have any friends, but it was better than being stared at. That’s what Shiho told herself, at least, over and over, and looked at her phone to text Ann furtively during class. 

Their furniture had come in a few days later, and as Shiho’s mom had pointed out, everyone watched the delivery driver very carefully. But that had all passed without incident, and thus the days dragged on by.

Her parents would never push her too hard, Shiho knew, but the way that they refused to push at all meant it was all on her to do so. Ann had texted her that morning, a cheerful and chipper note that had been the final nudge for Shiho: _Working on my figure today with a new exercise regimen that Ryuji came up with! Wish me luck! (.❛ ᴗ ❛.)_

Didn’t that mean Shiho had to do her best as well? She had come a long way through her physical therapy, but she still had a ways to go to get back to where she was before. Shiho wasn’t sure if she wanted to return to volleyball _ever_ , but that didn’t mean she didn’t want to still be athletic. It had been part of her identity for so long. And even that short jog to Junes two weeks before had absolutely winded her.

So Shiho found herself standing on the bank of the river that ran through Inaba in the early morning, though the name of it escaped her at the moment. Samegame…? Sakegawa?

There was a nice, fine mist to the morning, and it was cool without being chilly. The mist was too light to drench her, at least for now, and for Inaba, Shiho actually thought it was a surprisingly lovely morning. It wasn’t anything like the crisp, bright mornings of Tokyo’s early fall, but maybe that was a good thing. Shiho stared out at the river, and didn’t feel any fear or anxiety clog her throat as she listened to the bugs chirp and the river flow, and nothing else.

She took a breath, and she began to run.

It was hard, slow going. The smooth running gait she used to have was gone, replaced by a limp that she couldn’t seem to help. She knew she needed to work it out of her stride if she ever wanted to return to the athlete she was before, but that was easier said than done. Shiho grimaced and kept running, accompanied by nothing but her own panting breaths. The grassy plain of the bank was easier to run on than the concrete sidewalks of Tokyo, but that was something she could only barely process.

The rest of her mind was taken up by how out of shape she was, by how much her chest burned, by how it felt like she’d forgotten what to do with her arms, and by the pain in her leg, more from unused and atrophied muscles than anything else. She set a goal, eyes fixated on a random road marker down the way, and furrowed her brows.

“Okay, Shiho,” she panted. “You… you can… do this…”

Her own voice startled her, breathless as it was. She and the volleyball team had run lap after lap while yelling chants, and not once had her voice wavered. It was like she was a totally different person now. That thought didn’t bring her as much comfort as she thought it would, but that could have easily had something to do with how her legs and lungs both competed to burn the most. She looked up, teeth grit. She was nearly halfway there. If she just kept going, soon enough, she would be--

Shiho’s foot slipped on the dew-slick grass and she was unable to compensate as her already smarting leg crumpled beneath her, sending her sprawling on the ground. Falling like this didn’t hurt, Shiho thought to herself as she shoved her face against the grass, breath hitching. It didn’t hurt, not like some falls she’d had, and yet…

“Whoa, ouch, that looked like a nasty fall!” The voice came from a fair distance away, but Shiho could hear it get closer as the stranger continued, “Are you okay?”

That question again. Shiho buried her face against the grass more, mud smudging against her nose and cheeks.

“Oh jeeze…” the young woman said who was now clearly hovering over her. “Are you conscious? Do I need to call for help? Let’s see--”

“Wait--” Shiho sat up slowly, rubbing at her nose and succeeding only in smearing mud across her face. “I’m fine. You don’t need to call anyone.”

The young woman inspected her for a moment, before she crouched next to her. Like this, Shiho could see more than just her sensible running shoes; the woman had a cutely boyish haircut, and was wearing clothing clearly intended for a good workout. Still, even despite the concern on her face, there was a bright spunkiness in the girl’s eyes that reminded Shiho of someone, though she wasn’t quite able to place who.

Shiho cleared her throat and averted her gaze. “I’m sorry for interrupting your workout. I’m fine, so… don’t worry. You don’t have to stick around.”

“Oh, you’re not interrupting,” the young woman said, casually shooting down her protests as easily as that. “Are you suuuure you’re okay? That really was a bad fall.”

Shiho’s lips pressed together. It wasn’t this person’s fault that she’d been asked that question so many times now she felt like that was the entire identity of this town. She restrained herself from saying anything for a moment, counting to ten as she slowly pushed herself onto her knees.

“... I’m fine. I just tripped, that’s all,” she finally said, letting her eyes slide shut. The next part would be the hardest; she needed to get up, and no matter how she approached that, she’d be putting weight on her leg. It had recovered an amazing amount, but even so, there were still some things that gave her trouble. And that was _before_ an ill-advised jog and a fall. Still, there was nothing for it. She had to stand up.

Shiho took a deep breath, ignoring the way the young woman was still there for some mysterious reason, and began to push herself to her feet. It was a slow process, but she stuck with it. If she just remembered the joy of the first time she was able to stand again after everything, it made it all worth it.

She made it to her feet, and huffed out a short, faint sigh of relief.

“Hey, you’re pretty tough,” Shiho’s unwanted company said, hands propped on her hips. “You’re recovering from a bad injury, right?”

Shiho’s lips parted in surprise despite herself. Nobody at school had mentioned it, though it was true it was easier to hide beneath tights and a long skirt. Around the town, she’d worn only pants. But right now, for her morning of exercise, she’d trusted that nobody would be out this early and had worn shorts, revealing not only her brace, but the scars from her surgery. For a moment, Shiho was torn between the desire to run away and the urge to try to cover up her leg. Both were ridiculous, she thought bitterly; she could hardly run anywhere at this point, and she had nothing to cover up her scars with.

Instead, she took a deep breath, and chose the only option she had, opening her mouth to confront the statement head on.

The young woman didn’t let her, instead continuing to speak, filling up the silence easily. “That’s not an easy thing to do, you know. Trying to recover and working hard to get your muscle and stamina back, I mean, after an injury like that. To be honest, I think it’s pretty cool.”

Shiho was thrown off again immediately. “Cool…?” she muttered, brow furrowed as she tried to process that.

“Well, sure,” came the chipper response. “Like it’s a super heroic thing to do no matter how you look at it. When you get knocked down, it’s easier to just stay down. But you decided to stand back up, no matter how hard it was.”

That gave Shiho pause. She had decided to stand back up, it was true. She had decided to stand back up when she could barely move from her bed, and again at physical therapy, and again when her legs finally decided to obey her. She stood up every morning, and she stood up today, after she fell. That was just what she had to do, so she did it. Was that really something heroic…?

When Shiho thought of heroes, she thought of Ann, her smile bright and gleaming, her hand outstretched to bring her away from her loneliness and into the light of her presence.

But now she wondered… if she asked Ann if she was heroic, at least a little, would Ann have agreed with this stranger’s appraisal of her?

“Anyway, sorry for just getting up in your space. I’m Chie. Chie Satonaka. It’s nice to meet you,” Chie said, holding out a hand.

Carefully, Shiho took that hand and shook it. “Um, I’m Shiho.”

She paused briefly, and tentatively, before she could stop herself, she asked, “Do you really think that I’m… heroic?”

Chie tilted her head. Shiho flushed immediately at her own childish question, shaking her head. “N-never mind, I, um. I should be getting back home, I think.”

“Do you have to leave already?”

That was an unexpected response to her graceless attempt to leave, and Shiho paused despite herself.

“Well, it’s just…” Chie cleared her throat, looking almost equally sheepish, and for a moment, Shiho felt some kinship there. “I come out here every morning to work out. I’m trying to get ready for the police academy entrance exams, yanno? I thought maybe… you wouldn’t mind having a workout buddy.”

It struck Shiho suddenly, blinking at Chie as she rubbed the back of her head with a sheepish grin on her face, awkward but resolute as she extended her hand in friendship, that it was _herself_ Chie reminded her of. She was the person Shiho once was able to be, cheerful and chipper, awkward but sincere around the volleyball team and Ann and the few friends she was able to have.

Before Kamoshida, before her fall, she was able to be like this too, wasn’t she?

Maybe it was that thought that spurred her on, or maybe it was just the friendliness and sincerity in each and every one of Chie’s words, but before she could think about it, Shiho was nodding. “Um… okay. If you don’t mind me slowing you down.”

Chie hummed a softly dissenting noise, tilting her head. “What are you talking about?” she said with a grin. “I’m pretty sure that soon enough, I’m going to be the one working hard to keep up with you.”

Shiho wasn’t sure how Chie could possibly mean that, but she was clearly too honest to be teasing her, so she let it pass with a faintly bemused shrug. After they finished their jog, Chie remained by her side even as she did her physical therapy exercises, showing her a few more stretches and helping her stay steady even through the most difficult of the exercises.

By the time Shiho returned home, it was with her phone clutched to her chest, a new number in her contacts, and a lighter, more optimistic outlook for the day.

* * *

It was on Chie’s recommendation that Shiho pushed her way into the small tofu shop one warm Sunday afternoon. She hadn’t been able to come with her--Shiho knew that Chie was extremely busy with her studies, with the looming exams on the horizon--but had told her in a very conspiratorial way that Shiho would love going there, both “for the tofu, and for something else too”.

Shiho had no idea what that could possibly mean, but after a couple of weeks of training with Chie in the mornings, she knew the young woman didn’t have a mean bone in her body. If nothing else, she could be sure that she wasn’t being sent on a wild goose chase.

And in truth, well… there wasn’t that much else to do in Inaba. Shiho had explored every nook and cranny by now, and while there was some interesting history to the place, it otherwise wasn’t particularly exciting. She had a lot of time for her rehab and her schoolwork, if nothing else, but the way she could stare out into the distance and see nothing but fields from her window was a little lonely.

There was always Ann, of course, the shining light in her evenings and days, but Ann was busy. She had her modeling and Shiho knew she had a new group of friends, something that made her truly and sincerely happy. The last thing she wanted was for Ann to be miserable because of her decision to move away, but it seemed that thankfully, she’d managed to make it through and blossom even further. That said, it did mean Ann had less time to respond than Shiho had time to stare at her phone, composing messages that she never sent so as not to bother her.

So the promise of adventure was more than enough to get Shiho out of the house at this point.

“Marukyu,” she murmured to herself as she stepped in, mulling over the name. No matter how hard she tried, it just looked like a regular, small town tofu shop to her. She couldn’t see anything particularly special about it; it was small and traditional, and carried the unique scent of a food shop steeped in long tradition. The shop was quiet; Shiho supposed she had missed both the early morning hour for purchasing ingredients for dinner and the lunch hour, so it was only natural.

Idly, she poked through the tofu still laid out from that morning, charmed a little despite herself by all of the hand-written price tags. That was only something you’d see out in the countryside like this, wasn’t it?

“Can I help you with something?”

Shiho jerked her head up suddenly, surprised to find herself face-to-face with someone who didn’t look _that_ much older than she was.

“I thought that the person who owned this store was an old lady,” Shiho blurted out--and then immediately, she winced. Even now, she had yet to learn how to keep her mouth shut when it came to her blunt and unwanted observations, hadn’t she?

The young woman blinked, fiddling with a strand of red hair beneath her neckerchief, and then she laughed a little. “You mean you actually came to see my grandmother, not me?”

Shiho hesitated, fiddling with the bottom of her hoodie, before she responded warily, “Was that the wrong thing to do…? I’m still pretty new here, and, um.” 

An awkward pause, and she hastily blurted out, “Well, it sort of sounds like you’re flirting with me when you put it like that. That’s not what you’re doing, right?”

The tofu shop employee stared at her, and then she cracked up, peals of laughter escaping her with a hand over her eyes. Awkwardly, Shiho shifted in place and wondered if she should go. Chie surely hadn’t intended _this_ when she’d sent her here, right…?

“Oh man,” the young woman said, taking Shiho’s chance to escape away as she wiped a tear from her eye. “That’s a new one. I know it’s a secret that I’m here right now, but it’s definitely the first time I’ve ever been second fiddle to my grandmother.”

Awkward and still confused, Shiho offered up an uncertain, “I’m sorry…?”

“No, no, don’t be,” she responded, still smiling. Now that Shiho could get a good look at her face with that smile, there was something familiar about it, but she just couldn’t quite place it. It was nothing more than a vague echo, like something she’d seen once, briefly, and then never again.

“Did you come for some tofu?”

Shiho hesitated a moment later, before she just decided to come clean; she’d never been a skilled liar, and making up stories when it wasn’t necessary had been part of what had gotten her into that mess back in Tokyo to begin with. Staying as honest and sincere as she could had been one of her personal resolutions when moving here.

“Not exactly,” she said. “Um… Satonaka-san suggested I should come here. I didn’t really get the chance to ask why, so I just… came.”

Even to Shiho, it sounded pretty weak, but the pretty young woman brightened at it. “Oh, Chie sent you here! You must be Shiho, then.”

 _That_ was a new one. Shiho had never been the one whose friends talked about her, as far as she was concerned. She was pretty nondescript and uninteresting, after all, and so she could see absolutely no reason why Chie would’ve talked about her at all.

“I’m Rise,” the shopkeeper said, smiling brightly at her, apparently undeterred by the way Shiho had no response but to gape at her. “I’m not going to be in Inaba for long--I’m just here to visit my grandmother for a few days. I’m glad I got the chance to meet you before I had to leave!”

Now Shiho was beyond confused; not only had Chie been talking about her, but it had been in a positive light to one of her pretty friends who wasn’t even usually in Inaba…? None of this made any sense at all. Nor did it make sense that Rise would want to meet her; she wasn’t anything special.

Despite herself, that was the response that slipped out. “Why?”

“Why what?” Rise asked, hair swaying as she tilted her head, lifting a finger to fiddle with a strand of hair that had escaped her neckerchief.

“Why would you want to meet someone like me? I’m just…” There were any number of words Shiho could have used to finish that sentence, none of them flattering. But the thought of self-deprecating herself when Chie had sent her so positively here didn’t sit right, so instead, hesitantly, she just ended the sentence with a soft, “me.”

“That’s exactly why,” Rise said, propping a hand on her hip. She moves out from where she’d been checking the supplies so she could stand right in front of Shiho. “It’s because you’re you.”

Shiho opened her mouth, expression confused, but Rise shook her head, cutting her off.

“I just met you, Shiho, and I already know that that’s special. First off, my friends like you, and they have good taste in people. After all, they like me too.” She grinned and winked, a gesture so over-the-top and yet natural on her face that it made Shiho smile despite the mood.

Rise grew more serious quickly, though, adding solemnly, “And even more importantly...you’re here for a reason, right?”

Shiho hesitated. “A reason?”

Was she here for a reason? She was in Inaba because she’d wanted to get away from Tokyo, but was that a good reason? She was here to finish up high school, so she could check that off the list. She was here to…

“Well, that’s okay,” Rise said with a little shrug. “It might take you a little time to figure it out for yourself. It definitely took _me_ awhile. Do you want to try some tofu? I can show you my favorites.”

Shiho was still beyond puzzled, so she accepted the subject change as the escape it was, smiling a little uncertainly and bashfully as she followed Rise around the little shop, letting the other woman’s chatter wash over her.

She took home some fuwatto agedashi at Rise’s suggestion, much to her mother’s delight, with her own promise to come back before Rise left in a few days ringing in her own ears.

It was only later that night, when admiring some of the pictures Ann had sent of her most recent shoot that she realized where she had seen Rise’s face before; she’d been on the cover of one of Ann’s first magazines, a full spread devoted to her as the idol Risette.

Shiho had asked _Risette_ if she was flirting with her.

She let her head fall onto her desk with a loud enough thunk that her mother called up, “Shiho? Are you okay?”

“I’m fine, Mom!” Shiho called back, her forehead still on her desk. Still, despite how her face burned just remembering, she poked at the price tag from the tofu that she had kept and smiled a little to find that she actually meant it.

* * *

Even after Rise left to go back to her idoling gigs, leaving with a wink and a promise to check in every now and again, Shiho still often swung by Marukyu. Rise’s grandmother was incredibly kind, and while Shiho didn’t really have much reason to be getting tofu all the time, she seemed welcome there whether she bought something or not. A number of afternoons were spent there, Shiho first leaning against one of the counters while the old lady worked, and then helping out around the place. It was the least she could do in return for the peace and quiet.

Inaba was quiet, after all, but the peace of the tofu shop was different. There, it felt like Shiho was frozen in time. She didn’t feel like she was being left behind as she tried to figure out what she wanted, and she didn’t feel like there were any expectations. It was only her and her thoughts and a kindly hand, and that suited her perfectly. Ann, it seemed from her texts, was constantly moving forward and reshaping herself and figuring out what she wanted to be. Shiho admired it just as much as she feared being left behind.

“I’m not sure if I should join any clubs,” Shiho admitted quietly that afternoon when she stopped by after school. “There are sign-ups for the sports clubs, and they do have a women’s volleyball team, but…”

The grandmother paused for a moment where she had been cleaning up the unsold tofu, smiling a little to herself. “But…?” she prompted gently.

“I’m not sure if I’m ready yet,” Shiho said in a rush, frowning. She scrubbed at one of the countertops fiercely. “Satonaka-san’s training has helped a lot in getting me back on my feet, but what if I go back and I can’t do any of what I did before? What if I go back and I’m awful? What if--”

“Er, sorry,” a gruff voice interrupted, one that most _certainly_ did not belong to Rise’s grandmother, and Shiho lifted her head so quickly she heard her own neck pop.

“Didn’t mean to interrupt or nothing, it’s just…” The young man who stood at the front of the shop was pretty much the thing of Shiho’s nightmares--and not, at the same time. The well-sculpted forearms brought her right back to one person, and this young man was both tall and intimidating. But the similarities ended there; glasses softened his expression, and he wore a polo shirt that was so neat and tidy and so at-odds with the rest of him that it almost made Shiho laugh despite herself.

She didn’t, in part mostly because she could barely catch her breath suddenly, but the tofu shop owner seemed quite pleased to see him.

“Tatsumi-kun, welcome, welcome. You aren’t interrupting. Come in.”

He did shuffle inside, his hands in his pockets. His eyes fell on Shiho, something she felt almost as if a physical force, and she flinched. Whatever he thought of that, he kept it to himself, instead humming quietly to himself.

“Thanks,” he said to the shop owner instead. “Ma’s lookin’ to fix some suimono tonight, so I’m here to pick up some yuba.”

“Of course, of course,” she said cheerfully, shuffling towards what remained of the day’s stock. “Here, come pick which one you like the most.”

Shiho watched this exchange, tucked away in the corner of the shop, rag still in hand, and felt more trapped than she had since arriving in Inaba. It was so quiet and there was so little to do in Inaba, she realized quite suddenly, but it was also _open and free_ , something that she had sorely needed in the wake of Tokyo.

With that freedom cut off, now that she was so aware of it, the lack of it suddenly seemed even worse than before.

“Tatsumi-kun, would you do me a favor as well…?” Rise’s grandmother asked, shuffling over to Shiho’s side. “Would you walk poor Shiho-chan back towards her home? It’s getting dark, and a young girl like her shouldn’t really be out walking at night.”

The young man paused, inspecting her for a moment, before he nodded. “Sure, ma’am. It’s no problem. It’s prolly on the way.”

“Is that all right, Shiho-chan?” the elderly woman asked, and Shiho, used now and after so long to doing exactly what she was told, nodded stiffly without a word, her eyes fixed on the washcloth in her hands.

The young man gave her one more look, more evaluating than anything, and then turned on his heel to start to walk with a casual, “C’mon, then. Let’s go.”

Shiho hesitated, but he was well and truly gone, and so she scrambled to grab her school bag to trot after him. For a little while, they did nothing but walk, him in front and Shiho a few (safe) paces behind, before he suddenly stopped, rubbing the back of his head and sighing.

“Sorry,” he said, turning to face her, and Shiho gaped at him. There were a lot of things she’d expected him to say, but that was not one of them, and she was entirely uncertain how to respond.

“Huh…?” she finally responded, eloquently.

“Look, it’s just… I can tell you don’t wanna be around me. That’s fine ‘n all too. I get it. Sorry you kinda got it forced on you, that’s all.”

This… was new. This level of consideration…from someone who looked like _that_ \-- 

Shiho blinked, and then she slapped her face with her own hand, groaning. “I can’t believe this,” she muttered, face hidden now behind both of her hands. “After Ann and everything and me and Mishima, here I am doing the _exact_ same thing and judging people from how they look.”

“Uh,” he said, just as eloquent as she was before.

Shiho took a deep breath, standing straighter and finally tugging her hands away to meet his eyes. “I’m sorry, Tatsumi-san. It’s… my fault. I was the one who shouldn’t have judged you by how you look.”

She smiled a little then, a fond and sentimental expression, as she murmured, “My best friend gets that a lot, you know? She’s judged a lot because she looks a little different from everyone else, even though she’s got the most beautiful heart of anyone I’ve ever met. So… I’m sorry. I should know better.”

“It’s Kanji,” he said. “Tatsumi-san’s my ma.”

“Oh,” Shiho said slowly, not having expected that to be his very first response. “Um, right.”

“Anyway, you don’t gotta worry,” he said as he turned on his heel again to start walking, beckoning to her. “I’m used to it. ‘Sides, you figured it out faster than most people do. I’m kinda glad about that.”

Shiho smiled a little at his sheepish response. She was starting to get a better feel for the sort of person Kanji was, and it was that feeling that made her trot to catch up, until she was properly walking by his side.

“Is it okay if we just call it even, then?” she asked, and he looked immensely relieved at the offer.

“Yeah, let’s go with that,” he said, settling a little now that there were no more apologies being thrown around and about.

Shiho, quite content with that, walked with him for a little ways longer, both of them quiet. Shiho focused on how excited she was to tell Ann about him--she thought that if she could get a good picture of him, she could really surprise Ann with the surprise twist ending of what a kind person hew as. But that did hinge on him agreeing to be photographed… 

Kanji didn’t seem like the sort of person who minded some peace and quiet, at least not as much as she could tell from their brief meeting, so it surprised her when he suddenly cut into her thoughts to say, “Look… I kinda overheard what you were sayin’ about the school clubs and stuff.”

“Oh.” Shiho nearly froze in place, spirits dampened immediately by the reminder.

Kanji lifted his hands placatingly, expression a little panicked at the look on her face. “It’s, uh, nothin’ you gotta look that sad over, okay? I just wanted to say, uh--you can figure it out as you go. Yasogami’s pretty casual about when you sign up for your clubs ‘n stuff, so… don’t stress yourself out over it, I guess.”

Shiho blinked at him for a moment, trying to process the fact that this man who she thought was so intimidating, built so like-- _him_ \--was now trying to give her a pep talk about her high school clubs.

“Wow, I really pegged you wrong,” Shiho said in response, and Kanji flushed. 

“Hey, shuddap. I’m tryin’ to help, okay?”

She laughed at that, covering the sound behind a hand. “I know, I know. It’s really sweet, actually. I just didn’t really think anyone other than sweet kind grannies would care about my high school woes.”

Kanji simmered down a bit at that, and when he looked at her, he looked surprisingly serious. “It bein’ high school has nothing to do with anything. ‘S just as serious as any other problem, high school or not.”

“Really?” Shiho looked pretty skeptical at that, her arms crossing as she considered it. As far as she was concerned, her inability to decide on joining a club or not was about as petty a concern as it could be. That was why she hadn’t brought it up to Ann. There were more important things for Ann to focus on right now.

Still, Kanji nodded. “Well, yeah, of course. A problem’s a problem, yeah? And if it’s a problem, it’s worth worryin’ over. So, I guess what I’m tryin’ to say is just don’t undermine your own problems. You seem like a good kid, so...it’s probably pretty okay to dwell on ‘em a bit.”

Shiho, uncertain how to respond to what was actually surprisingly good advice, stalled by teasing, “What if I’m actually a delinquent?”

Kanji just grinned at that. “Then your problems’re still worth worrying about. Trust me. You probably’ve got even more reasons to worry if that’s the case.”

Shiho was still musing over that when Kanji paused. “Oh, shit--wait, sorry, I mean, uh, shoot, we passed where we gotta split. I need to go that way.”

“It’s okay,” she said with a smile, one she sincerely meant. “My house is pretty close to here, so you did a good job walking me home. Thanks, Kanji-san.”

He made a face. “Still too stuffy. But--look, here, before I go, take this.”

He fished out a little bag from his pocket, carefully juggling his tofu in his other hand, and curiously, Shiho took it. It was of a satiny fabric, small enough to fit in the palm of her hand, and just dense enough that she couldn’t see through the fabric to see what was inside.

“My ma runs a textile shop here in Inaba. You or your folks ever need anythin’ like that, let us know, okay?” With that last offer, Kanji flashed her a smile and turned to go without a word of farewell, leaving Shiho standing there with the bag in hand. She only watched him go for a moment before her curiosity overtook her, though, and then she was quick to open it.

Inside there was a card with the name of the shop, a phone number and address, which wasn’t surprising. But there was also a small little stuffed keychain charm of a brown puppy, its tongue out, the details lovingly stitched together. She stared at it in the palm of her hand, before she lifted her head to look down the dirt road, where Kanji had long since disappeared.

“Did he…?” she muttered to herself, poking at the dog with her finger.

… Nah, he couldn’t have, she thought. It had to be a marketing ploy from his mother… probably. Still, something about it felt sentimental, and she carefully clipped it onto her school bag before she walked the rest of the way home. Still, she really should know better than to judge by appearances, so maybe...

The next day, somehow bolstered by his gruff and somewhat awkward way of giving advice, she went to observe one of the girls’ volleyball team’s practices.

* * *

“I’ve gotta go, Shiho-san!” one of the other girls from the volleyball team said as she hurriedly scooped up her school bag and uniform. “My mom’s expecting me home. But hey, thanks for helping me work on my receives!”

Shiho waved with a small smile. “Sure, glad I could help. Take care, Chouko-san.”

Shiho’s classmate waved one more time, and then she was gone, trotting away with a panic that spoke of a teenager who was already on her parent’s last nerves. Shiho watched her go with a faint smile on her face, and then bounced her volleyball against the ground. There wasn’t a proper court at the park, but there was still plenty of space to practice, and that was all that really mattered.

Shiho lifted the ball and tossed it up as high as she could, catching it neatly on her fingertips.

In truth, fitting into the volleyball team at Yasogami High had been almost frighteningly easy. They had enough girls for a team, but only barely, and there was no way they were ever going to compete at a regional level, much less a national one. They were too small, with too many girls who had never played before.

But they had enthusiasm and heart and took joy from the game, and sometimes, Shiho felt like she was the one who shouldn’t have been there. They had all welcomed her whole-heartedly, especially when they saw her skills, but Shiho was the one who had forgotten why she played. It was Shiho who had forgotten how much she loved volleyball before, when they had all been pushed so hard at Shujin to compete, to win, to bring home accolades where failure was not an option. Seeing the bright, grinning faces of the team as they slowly learned to put together plays for the first time just hammered home just how much she’d forgotten that.

Shiho tossed the ball up again, frowning tightly, and watched as it spun its way down, before she caught it neatly again.

“You do that very well,” remarked a calm voice from not far away, and Shiho, now used to Inaba’s residents’ apparent inability to keep to themselves, just sighed a little to herself and tucked the volleyball under her arm. She turned, arching an eyebrow at the young man who sat not far from her, on one of the picnic benches under the park terrace.

Shiho cleared her throat. “Thank you,” she said softly. She was on the verge of turning away again, possibly to pack up to go home, when she was interrupted again.

“You don’t look terribly happy about it, though,” the stranger said, and Shiho pursed her lips.

“It’s not really any of your business,” she said, before her brain caught up with her tongue once again.

Immediately, she lifted a hand to cover her mouth, regret in every line of her body language. “I’m sorry,” she said hastily. “I didn’t mean to be so rude. It’s just that everyone here is so--”

“Nosy?” the other person said, laughing softly. There was something distinctly feminine about that soft laugh, and Shiho amended her assumption. This person wasn’t a young man at all, right? “I’ve been accused of being pretty nosy and meddlesome myself, so I can’t deny it. Don’t worry, I’m not mad and you haven’t been rude. I was the one prying into your affairs.”

It was again a different response than Shiho had been expecting, and despite herself, she meandered closer, head tilting curiously. “If you know it’s rude, why did you try to pry?”

That got another soft laugh, one a bit more sheepish. “I suppose it’s in my nature to pry. I’m usually a detective.”

“Usually?” Shiho asked, thinking that this person did not look near old enough to be a detective, though she supposed the Detective Prince Akechi everyone was gushing about on TV all the time was only a teenager.

“I’m off-duty right now,” the other confirmed. “This is a spot I like to come to think, when I’m in town.”

Shiho paused a moment longer, and then hesitantly took a seat next to her. “...I’m Shiho. Do you live here in Inaba?”

“Naoto Shirogane,” Naoto said, crossing her arms thoughtfully. “And I don’t. I am only here briefly, in fact, before I continue on to my next destination. But since I was in the area, and that is rather rare, I wanted to stop in to see my friends.”

That made sense, and Shiho nodded understandingly; if she was ever even remotely in the area of Tokyo proper, she would definitely always make the effort to visit Ann.

“Now, will you satisfy my curiosity, or will you snap at me again for asking?” Naoto asked, the small smile on her lips clearly showing how she was joking.

Shiho still huffed a little. “I didn’t mean to snap. It’s just that everyone here keeps asking me things like that. If I’m doing okay, or if I’m all right, or what’s wrong or what’s on my mind.”

“Is that a bad thing?” The question, soft-spoken as it was, still managed to freeze Shiho in place. Was it bad…? Was it bad that everyone here seemed so concerned for her well-being, even though she was a stranger? Was it bad that everyone went out of their way to ask, to check in, to reach out to her, even when she was sullen or grumpy or outright rude?

Shiho sucked in a slow breath, and stared down at the volleyball in her hands.

“I… don’t know,” she admitted slowly. “I haven’t really thought about it, I guess. I’m just not used to it.”

“And it can feel quite invasive when you aren’t used to others asking after your well-being and state of mind, right?” Naoto continued gently. Slowly, Shiho nodded. It was true. The only people who had really ever asked if she was okay, her family aside, had been Ann and that odd transfer student that everyone had been spreading rumors about. Perhaps others would have asked if she had given them the time and the chance to ask…

But she didn’t regret that she hadn’t. They should have asked long before things escalated to that point, she thought fiercely, fingers tightening on the ball. They should have asked when it was clear nothing was okay, and everything was wrong.

Maybe if she had been in Inaba from the start, something like that would have never happened.

But if she had been in Inaba from the start, she never would have met Ann, and the thought of her life without Ann’s light felt so empty it nearly took her breath away.

Naoto had been watching her quietly as Shiho worked her way through her thoughts. “They mean well, sincerely,” the detective finally said. “Though I know that doesn’t always help. Still, I hope that you’re able to find some peace while you’re here.”

She smiled, tugging one of her gloves on more properly, and moved to stand. “After all, Inaba is very precious to me. It’s the place where I myself was able to finally understand what it means to open up to someone else.”

Shiho lifted her chin, resting the volleyball on her lap gently. “Here?” she asked, voice soft, as if she couldn’t help herself.

“I’m afraid I’ll leave the rest of the details to that little story a mystery for now.” Naoto just smiled and lifted a hand to tip her hat. “I hope we are able to speak again someday, Shiho-san. Please take care.”

Naoto walked away with a steady, confident stride, leaving Shiho alone in the park. She remained there until the sky started to properly darken, staring at the volleyball, alone with her thoughts. And then she packed everything up, grabbed her phone, and shot Ann a simple, single text: _Thank you for being in my life._

When she sent it off, she noticed that she’d been added to a group chat between the volleyball girls; Chouko, it seemed, had been gushing not only about her skills but about how kind and steady she was as a teacher, and the other girls were clamoring for her to help them out too. Shiho rubbed the back of her head as she tried to figure out how to respond, starting to stroll back home, her feet taking her there automatically after so many walks back. 

She knew the way easily now.

Her phone buzzed with Ann’s response. _That should be my line, you know? ♥_

* * *

By Golden Week, Shiho was starting to feel as though she’d be okay here in Inaba. It was so different still, sure, but its differences were part of what she thought was bringing her back to herself. Here, she could just be Shiho, and not Kamoshida’s victim. Here, she was Shiho--member of the volleyball team, decent student, the girl who helped out sometimes at the tofu shop, and the girl who was learning how to sew.

Slowly, piece by piece, she was building her identity again, and finding that it was coming out a little different than it had been before she’d shattered. That was okay, though, she thought. It just meant she’d included some new pieces, that was all.

For Golden Week, Shiho and her parents left on a family vacation--“long overdue”, according to her mother. They did not go back to Tokyo, but Shiho nonetheless spent a large portion of it on the phone with Ann, and as her parents indulgently allowed it, regardless of how it was supposed to be a “family vacation”.

So it was that Shiho only made it back to Inaba on the last day of Golden Week. The train pulled into the station, and she waved cheerfully as her parents told her to go on ahead while they grabbed the luggage. She did so, jogging out of the train, feeling almost buoyant and light for the first time in an amount of time she really did not want to examine too closely. Her leg barely ached, the sun was shining in Inaba, and Ann had smiled so brightly at her when she’d video chatted with her on the phone on the train.

She tilted her face up to the sunshine, basking in it for a long moment, allowing herself to feel that lightness in her heart, eyes closed.

And then she ran into someone.

He was significantly taller than her, and she was the one to stumble because of it. But before she could fall, he was there, reaching out to snag her arm, tugging her back up to her feet in a neat and tidy movement that was so smooth, for a moment, all she could do was blink at him in dumbfounded amazement. Grey eyes stared back, calm and peaceful, and Shiho found herself relaxing in response almost automatically.

“I’m sorry. Are you all right?” he asked quietly, and Shiho was quick to wave a hand, anticipating the question and shaking her head. “Oh, no, it was my fault! I’m the one who wasn’t looking where I was going. I’m so sorry.”

He smiled then, a soft and oddly fond expression, and said, “It’s Suzui-san, right?”

Shiho stood straighter then, frowning at him, brow furrowing. Did she...know this young man? She felt like she would remember someone so striking, and yet nothing was coming to mind…

As if reading her mind, the young man cleared his throat. “Sorry, my name is Yu. Narukami Yu. I should have introduced myself sooner.”

The name wasn’t familiar, the bemusement still plain on her face, and Yu continued, “My friends told me about you. They live here in Inaba.”

Slowly, it sunk in--first the relief that she hadn’t forgotten someone like this and had embarrassed herself terribly in front of him, and second that the people she’d met here had been _talking about her_.

“That’s…” Shiho trailed off weakly for a moment, before she took a stab in the dark. “Satonaka-san?”

The young man smiled, humming a contented noise. “She’s one of them. And Yukiko, Yosuke, Teddie, Naoto, Rise, Kanji…”

He counted them off on his fingers, and Shiho slowly pressed a hand to her face despite herself.

“ _All_ of them have been talking about me?” she asked in plain exasperation, for a moment forgetting that she was talking to someone who was basically a stranger to her, and also a friend to all of those people.

Yu chuckled softly at that, and didn’t seem in the least bit offended. “That’s right. It’s because they’re all really impressed by you, Suzui-san.”

She lifted her chin immediately, pinning him with an incredulous look, but he just smiled.

“I’m serious. They think you’re really amazing. They’ve all been talking about how strong you are.”

There was a muffled announcement over the old, outdated intercom of the station, too staticy for Shiho to pick out the destination, and Yu looked up with a sigh.

“That’s my train,” he said, somehow able to interpret and understand said intercom, which she was sure had to be some sort of super power. “I wish we could talk longer, but I’m really glad we at least were able to meet.”

He held out his hand, and Shiho took it to shake, still blinking in bemused befuddlement.

“I can already see what my friends were talking about,” he added with a wink. “You’re a pretty amazing person, Suzui-san. Strength… is written all over you.”

And then with that, he was gone, striding towards the train with his bag slung over his shoulder.

Shiho stared after him, eyes wide, before her parents finally caught up with her, and then she was swept up in their activity and relief to be home. Her mother nudged her shoulder gently.

“What’s wrong, Shiho? You’re daydreaming.”

Shiho shook herself a little, and smiled at her mother, contentedness softening her expression. “Oh, it’s nothing. I’m just glad to be home.”

She wasn’t as surprised as she thought she would be to find that she meant it.

* * *

\-- ( extra ) --

”What, really? Shiho, you can’t leave me hanging like that! What did you do with the envelope? Did it have a love letter inside?” Ann’s voice, eager and engaged, was comforting in the best of ways. Shiho, resting on her stomach on her bed with her phone next to her on speakerphone, grinned a little, a faint flush to her cheeks.

“It did, actually.”

“Whaaat, really? Was the confessor super cute?”

“She was,” Shiho confirmed with a smile. “But I had to turn her down.”

“Hmm?” Ann hummed with clear curiosity and a smile in her voice. “Why’s that?”

“There’s someone else I like,” Shiho responded, confidence in her tone.

“Oooh, Shiho, look at you, Miss Confidence! It’s a good look on you,” Ann said cheerfully.

Shiho hummed as well, rolling over to rest on her back, a smile flickering on her lips. “You can’t even see me right now.”

“I can,” Ann said firmly. “I can see you in my head right now. I bet I know exactly what sort of look you’re wearing. Because you’re Shiho.”

“Yeah… and because you’re Ann, I can see you in my head too,” Shiho agreed, sighing contentedly. “But you know what, Ann? I think I’ve changed a bit, too.”

There was silence on the other line, but only for a moment. When Ann responded, Shiho could imagine her smile, and she closed her eyes, pretending Ann was right there by her side. Ann sounded happy. Wasn’t that one of the best things in the world?

“Is that right? I’m looking forward to seeing it when I visit. But you know, Shiho… you really do sound a lot happier.”

Shiho’s eyes fluttered open, and she stared up at the ceiling as she contemplated that. Of course she and Ann had been thinking along the exact same lines. That was what best friends did, wasn’t it? But really, in her heart, she knew the answer immediately. She smiled, sitting up slowly.

“Yeah… I needed a little help to get there, but you know what, Ann? I think I am.”

“Great!” Ann’s voice came over loud and clear, and Shiho wondered just how loudly Ann was talking back home. She could imagine it so easily, and it made her grin. “But you better be ready, because I’m not going to lose to your new friends!”

Shiho laughed, lifting up her phone. “Honestly… you don’t ever have to worry about anything like that. After all...”

She cradled the phone close, peering out the window at the rain that pounded on the glass. “Ann, you’re the one who makes me the happiest of all.”

**Author's Note:**

> ...aka I just want Shiho to be happy and have stronger feelings on that than I thought. Thanks for reading! ♥


End file.
